Essential Japan - Tokyo, Mount Fuji and Kyoto

This eight-day escorted tour by Explore Worldwide begins in Tokyo, where days start with wandering ancient temple precincts and finish sipping tea and shaping wagashi sweets. The full-day walking tour covers Asakusa's Thunder Gate, leafy Ueno Park and its museums, and the post-war Ameyoko Market, before a workshop on traditional lantern-making or candy crafting.

Leaving the city by bullet train, the route heads to Shizuoka, where tea farms produce some of Japan’s prized green teas against a backdrop of Suruga Bay. There’s time for a leisurely walk around Lake Tanuki—an artificial body of water offering clear views of Mount Fuji and nearby Shizuoka’s famous waterfalls, including Shiraito Falls’ fine curtains of water and Otodome Falls’ narrow cascade.

The final leg unfolds in Kyoto, starting with a Buddhist meditation session and visits to Sanjusangen-do’s thousand statues and Kiyomizu-dera temple, whose wooden pillars rise dramatically above the valley. A moderate mountain walk north of Kyoto leads to the peaceful village of Kibune. The small-group dynamic and a mix of walking, rail and bus travel allow for moments both guided and free-form, with time to get acquainted with Japan’s quieter rhythms as well as its city bustle.